


Something Blue

by unoriginal_liz



Series: lwd himym au of doom [7]
Category: Life with Derek
Genre: AU, F/M, Inspired by How I Met Your Mother
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-07-18
Updated: 2012-07-18
Packaged: 2018-07-23 22:14:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,959
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7481937
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/unoriginal_liz/pseuds/unoriginal_liz
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>“I mean, what do you call it when two people can’t be together, but – they still care about each other?”</p>
            </blockquote>





	Something Blue

**_“Kids, when your Aunt Emily and Uncle Sheldon got back together they decided to take it slow…”_ **

“We shouldn’t rush into things this time,” Emily said.

Sheldon nodded. “ _Exactly_. I mean, that’s what got us into trouble before.”

“So this time – we should probably take it easy. Let things happen – when they happen. It’s not a race, right?”

Sheldon agreed, spreading his arms wide. “What’s the hurry?”

**_“So of course, it makes sense that a couple of months later, they were discussing” –_ **

Sheldon held up a peacock feather and said, “Hear me out – the colours are vibrant and rich, and they offset our wedding scheme perfectly!”

“Okay, I can see that,” Emily allowed. She stared at the feather and her mouth pursed, “But… _live_ peacocks?”

**_“Okay, the peacock thing ultimately fell through – but the wedding was back on. Only this time, your Aunt Emily was a willing participant in all things bridal. Which was how we found out the truth about your Uncle Derek…”_ **

“ – wedding invitations. I think we found one that’s classical and timeless, but also expresses who we both are, as modern individuals,” Sheldon said, as he sat into the booth at the bar.

“It’s cheap,” Emily translated, dropping her wedding folder onto the table, and sliding in next to Sheldon. Despite this, she sounded enthused.

Looks were exchanged between Casey, Sam and Derek, before Sam said, gamely, “That’s great.”

“Thanks,” Sheldon said, and then, “Oh hey, Sam – how do you feel about carnations? And please be honest. A lot depends on your response.”

“Um,” Sam said, sneaking a glance at Casey, “I don’t know if I should talk about my feelings for carnations when my girlfriend is in the room.” His mouth twitched, and Casey looked away, smiling.

Sheldon was unimpressed. “For our _buttonholes._ Sam – this is serious. It’s a matter of life or till-death-do-us-part.”

Emily looked up from her wedding folder. “How does Derek feel about carnations?” she asked.

“Well, it doesn’t really matter how Derek feels about carnations,” Sheldon said, “since he’s not my best man.”

“What?” Emily stared at him. “What are you talking about?”

Seeming confused, Sheldon repeated, “Derek’s not my best man.”

Derek laconically raised his hand, index finger in the air. “And I’m okay with that.”

“Well I’m not,” Emily said, not looking at him. “Sheldon – I thought we were going to make all our important wedding decisions together?”

Sheldon still seemed puzzled. “Of course we are…I just – come on, Em – is this really a ‘decision’? Sam’s always been there for us.”

“Yeah, and so has Derek.”

“Um…” it was Casey’s turn to interrupt, “Em – I think you might be confusing ‘being there’ for someone with ‘being in the same general vicinity.’”

Emily looked at Derek, who shook his head slightly, but vehemently, a warning look in his eyes. She turned back to Sheldon. “If it wasn’t for Derek, we wouldn’t be getting married.”

Derek put his head down on his forearms.

“What?” Sheldon blinked at her. 

“I’ll second that,” Sam said.

“ _Derek?_ ” Casey paused, as if the very thought caused her thought processes to slow. “I mean, that’s not…that’s just – _Derek_?”

“It’s true,” Emily said, still addressing Sheldon.

“No it’s not,” Derek said, looking up. “It’s not true – and even if it _was,_ ” he glared at Emily, “which it’s _not_ , we probably couldn’t even talk about it – because I seem to remember one person swearing the other person to secrecy.” Sam and Casey stared at him. “…I’m guessing,” he finished lamely.

Emily ignored him. “It happened a little while after we’d broken up. I was in Sydney, trying to forget about you and…”

_The sound of knocking on her door made Emily groan and sigh as she rolled out of bed and padded across the floor. She rubbed her eyes as she opened the door, only to stop, stunned, mid-yawn._

_“Hey.” Derek raised a hand in greeting, only to drop it again._

_“ Derek? What are you” –_

_“Doing here?” he finished. “I just came to tell that – I was right, and you were wrong.”_

_“I was – what?”_

_“I was right and you were wrong,” he repeated impatiently. “You’re here, and Sheldon’s back in Toronto, so obviously, there’s no such thing as true love or happily ever after. I win.”_

_He turned on his heel and strode away, leaving Emily gaping after him. But halfway down the corridor, he snapped his fingers, turning back as he realised, “Right. You’re not Casey.”_

_Emily looked down at herself. “No. Definitely not Casey,” she agreed._

_“If I said that to her she’d already be booking her flight home.”_

_Emily straightened up and said, a little warily, “Yeah, well, I think we’ve both established that I’m not Casey. And…if I was going to come back – I’d need a real reason.”_

_She waited. Derek chewed his lip, but finally admitted, “I got nothing.”_

_Emily blinked. “Oh.”_

_“I mean – sure, Shlepper was a little upset at first, but” –_

_“…a little upset,” Emily repeated._

_“ – but he’s doing okay now. As a matter of fact, I’m supposed to be hitting the town with him,” he looked at his watch, “…yesterday?”_

_“Sheldon’s – hitting the town?” Emily said, as if she couldn’t quite believe it._

_“Hitting the town, hitting the streets…hitting on chicks – yeah.”_

_“Hitting on…” Emily swallowed. “Sheldon’s…meeting – other women. That’s…great,” she said, a nauseated expression on her face. “I’m – happy for him.”_

_Derek looked at her. “No, you’re not,” he said. “ There’s your reason.”_

“That was when I realised that – I didn’t want to lose you while I was finding myself. Derek came in, and we talked – and I decided that I needed to fix us. Derek made me promise not to tell anyone about his visit,” she stopped and tossed a slightly repentant “sorry,” in Derek’s direction, “ – and I started packing. A week later, and I was home.”

Everyone sat in stunned silence, absorbing what Emily had just told them, until Sheldon said, “Em – I…” He swallowed, then slowly turned to Derek, who suspiciously drew back in his chair. 

“I can’t believe you did that,” Sam said. “Dude, that’s…” He trailed off, shaking his head, as if he couldn’t adequately explain what ‘that’ was.

Casey just stared at him.

In a tone of deep emotion, Sheldon said, “Derek – you saved our relationship. You’re the reason we’re getting married. I can’t tell you how much this means to me.”

“Then don’t,” Derek said quickly. He looked away from Sheldon, but that brought his eyes to Casey, who was still regarding him with a misty look on her face. He looked a little weirded out by her scrutiny, and turned back to Sheldon.

“But I have to,” Sheldon said. “I have to show you how much…”

Suddenly he got to his feet, and in a loud, carrying tone, he said, “Derek Venturi – will you do me the honour of being my best man?” In a lower voice, he said, “Sam – you understand, right?”

“You’re…demoting me?” Sam asked, sounding bemused.

Sheldon threw a glance at him. “Well – you have to admit, Derek _has_ shown a greater commitment to this marriage than you have.”

Emily laid a hand on his arm. “ _Actually_ ,” she said, “I was thinking that they could be co-best men.”

“But that would throw off the entire visual spectacle,” Sheldon said. Emily raised her eyebrows meaningfully, and he continued, “ – not…that that matters to me. We don’t obsess about unimportant details anymore.”

“Yeah…but still – I’d hate to throw off the visual spectacle,” Derek said. “I’d never forgive myself.”

“Derek,” Sheldon said, the sincerity in his voice seeming to make Derek cringe, “You saved us both from living unfulfilling loveless lives. I’m not taking no for an answer. You’re my best man…and you’re also my best friend.”

Derek glared at Emily who shrugged and said, unrepentantly, “Sorry – but it was either this, or be co-maid of honour with Casey.”

As if hearing her name finally freed her from her reverie, Casey burst out with, “Do you know what this _means_?” She grabbed Derek’s wrist.

Derek ostentatiously eased himself away from her…while still leaving her hand on his wrist.

“It means I didn’t want ‘Single Sheldon’ as my wingman, dragging down my rep.”

As if she hadn’t heard him, Casey continued, “It means you really _do_ believe in love.” She beamed at him. “I always knew there was more to you than meets the eye.”

“ _No_ , there isn’t,” Derek said forcefully.

“Fine,” Casey said. 

"Fine?" Derek repeated suspiciously.

Casey nodded. “Obviously I made a mistake. You are exactly as shallow and self serving as you appear.” But the proud look on her face didn’t change and he frowned.

“I can afford to be gracious in victory,” Casey explained behind her hand to the others.

Derek groaned.

*****

**_“And that was the story of how your Uncle Derek became Uncle Sheldon’s best man.”_ **

**_“Dad – don’t take this the wrong way, but if I’m on the edge of my seat…it’s only because I’m hoping that the fall will knock me unconscious.”_ **

**_“Anyway, after that, everything seemed to go smoothly. The next few months were pretty good. Your Aunt Emily and Uncle Sheldon managed to work out all the details of their wedding and well, your Aunt Casey and myself were getting along better than ever. Things were great.”_ **

**_“This is the part where things go horribly wrong, right Dad?”_ **

**_“…yeah. Okay – so it was a couple of days before the wedding and…”_ **

 

*****

 

Casey burst through the door and flung herself into Sam’s arms. “I did it!”

“You did?” Sam said, and hugged her back.

Over on the couch, Derek shielded his eyes and said, “Well, whatever _it_ is, could you do it somewhere else? Innocent bystander here.”

“I mean, I know it’s a long shot, and I shouldn’t get my hopes up, but…I can’t help it! This is so exciting!”

“It’s great,” Sam agreed, smiling at her. 

Casey pulled back, and even though the smile remained firmly on her face, it was now tinged with expectance. “And?” she said.

“It’s… _really_ great?” Sam tried.

“I meant – what about you? Did _you_ do it?”

“Uh…” Sam looked at her. “…no.”

“What? But we said we’d do it together!”

“Wow. Now I’m even less curious about what ‘it’ is,” Derek remarked, nose wrinkling as if he’d just caught a whiff of something bad.

“I know, I know, I just – I don’t know if my resume is impressive enough. There are probably a lot of people that are way more qualified.”

“Like I’m not going up against seasoned professionals with years more experience than I have? Sam – I get being scared, I do. But – we can’t use that as an excuse to not try…right?”

Sam nodded. “You’re right,” he said softly.

“Great,” she said, catching both of his hands in hers. “Then tonight, when I get home, we’ll work on your resume. Deal?”

“Deal,” he said.

“Good. I’d better go – I’m on my lunch break,” Casey said. “I just stopped by to tell you that,” a disappointed look briefly crossed her face, “ _one_ of us kept our promise.”

When she closed the door behind her, Sam stared at it for a moment before making his way over to the couch. He flopped down next to Derek and said, “You probably don’t know what that was about.”

“No,” Derek agreed.

“The thing is” –

“Yeah, did I say I _wanted_ to know?”

“ – there’s this new morning show, _Rise and Shine Toronto_ , and Casey wants to try for co-host. It’s a great opportunity – more face time, more responsibility, it could really get her name out there.”

“I think you need to ask yourself – can Casey get any more ‘out there’?” Derek wondered, making air-quotes around the words ‘out there’.

“And then – a couple of days ago, I met up with Ralph. Turns out his sister works in UT, and she knows there’s a teaching job coming up – and get this…it’s in the architecture department.” He stopped and looked at Derek, who shrugged.

“It’s perfect. I mean, Professor of Architecture? It’s a dream job. But for some reason…every time I try to send off my resume – something stops me.” He frowned at Derek. “This job is perfect for me – so…why am I avoiding actually doing something about it?”

Derek turned back to the television and started absently flicking through channels. He said, “I don’t know. Probably the same reason you keep avoiding dealing with the Casey situation.”

“The Casey Situation?” Sam rolled his eyes. “D – I hate to disappoint you, but there _is_ no Casey situation. As a matter of fact, we’re happier than ever.”

Derek sat back and fixed Sam with a disbelieving look. “Dude. You’ve been together for…how long? And you still haven’t snuggled.”

Sam sighed. “I don’t know why you’re so hung up on our snuggling life.”

“I am not hung up on it,” Derek denied immediately. “But seriously – _you_ don’t think it’s weird?”

Sam considered. “At first, I guess. But…I don’t know. I think, somewhere along the way, it stopped mattering so much.” He thought about it. “I mean, it’s obviously going to happen someday – when the time is right. But until then…I can wait.”

“Dude – that’s all you’ve done since you got together with Casey. Wait.” Derek exhaled, and held up his hands, obviously trying to be calm and reasonable. “Listen – we’ve all given this ‘you and Casey’ thing our best shot” –

“ _We_?” Sam repeated. 

“ – but don’t you think it’s time to throw in the towel and admit it’s not working out?”

A bemused smile crept across Sam’s face. “You’re actually trying to give me relationship advice.” With a dismissal so gentle it almost took the sting out of the words, he said, “Well, thanks for the thought…but I’d prefer to take my relationship advice from someone who’s capable of having a real relationship.”

“And I’d prefer to give my advice to someone who’s actually _in_ a real relationship,” Derek shot back, with an easy smile that didn’t reach his eyes. “So, I guess we’re both screwed.”

 

*****

 

**_“Kids, I didn’t take your Uncle Derek’s words too seriously. And neither did your Aunt Casey when I told her. Or at least – that was what I thought…”_ **

“Derek doesn’t think we’re working out as a couple?” Casey said. She shook her head. “Please. Like _he’s_ qualified to judge _anyone’s_ relationship.”

“That’s what I told him,” Sam said.

“And anyway, he’s completely wrong about us,” Casey said. 

“I know,” Sam said. “We’re great.”

“Great,” Casey echoed. The tapping of her fingers against the table was loud in the sudden silence. “You don’t think it’s weird that we haven’t” –

“No,” Sam jumped in before she could finish the sentence. “It’s not weird. We’re just waiting for the right time, that’s all.”

“Exactly,” Casey said, looking up at him with wide, approving eyes. “I’m so glad you understand. Just because we haven’t snuggled yet – that doesn’t mean anything.”

“Of course not,” Sam agreed.

“It’s not a problem – it’s a _choice_.”

“Yeah.”

“And even if we _did_ have a problem – Derek is the _last_ person I’d ever go to for advice,” Casey said, with finality.

 

*****

 

Derek stared at Casey, standing in his doorway. “You know…it kind of sounds like you’re asking for my advice.”

“Of course I’m not asking for your advice,” Casey said, crossing her arms. “You don’t even know the name of that girl on your couch.”

‘That girl’ got to her feet and slung the strap of her tiny, shiny purse over her shoulder. “I didn’t come here to be insulted,” she said.

“Oh, don’t worry,” Casey said, gesturing her back to the couch, “Derek doesn’t know enough about you to insult you. And this is only going to take a minute, so why don’t you sit back down and” –

‘That girl’ pushed against Derek, elbowing him in the ribs in the process, and shouldered Casey as she moved past her. “You can have him,” she said, before clacking her way down the hallway.

“What? But I don’t want him!” Casey called after her, rubbing her shoulder. “Can I come in?” she asked Derek.

He stared at her. “Well, considering that you came here to not-ask my advice, and you’ve already done that – no.”

He swung the door shut, but she stuck out her hand, pushing it back before it closed. “I need to explain something to you.” 

“ _Why_?”

“Because you have the wrong idea about me and Sam.”

“And why does that even matter?” Derek dropped onto the couch, leaning his head back and closing his eyes. 

Casey perched on the armrest, and sighed. “Because…you’re _not_ totally clueless when it comes to relationships,” she admitted. “After all, you’re the one who got Emily and Sheldon back together. You do have some… _small_ …amount of intelligence in this area.”

Derek lifted his head and cracked open his eyes. “So…what you’re saying is – you want my advice.”

“No,” she contradicted. “I want to explain why you’re wrong about Sam and me. Even though we have yet to reach a certain level of…physicality…that doesn’t mean that our relationship isn’t serious. In fact – it means the opposite.” She looked right at him, calm and serious. Then she took a deep breath and said, “The truth is, Sam and I have evolved beyond the need for snuggling.”

Derek stared at her. His mouth twitched. “I’m sorry – I can’t hear you over the laughing in my head.”

“Obviously, that might seem strange to you,” Casey continued, “Because your – for want of a better word – _relationships_ are based on a level of physicality that’s kind of” –

“Normal?”

“ – gross, actually,” she finished. “But – you don’t have to worry. Because Sam and I, are fine.”

“Because you’ve _evolved_ beyond that stuff,” Derek supplied.

“Exactly.”

“Right. Because the human race is based on the idea of people _not_ snuggling.”

Casey frowned. Derek leaned in close, and whispered as if he was imparting a secret. “Face it – what you and Sam have – that’s not evolution. It’s _extinction_.”

 

*****

 

When Sam opened the door, he was in pajama pants and an old t-shirt and the apartment was in darkness. “Case? What – is something wrong?” he asked.

Casey marched past him, pulling off her coat and tossing it onto the couch. “Of course not. Nothing’s wrong. We just need to snuggle. Right now.”

*****

**_“Kids, let me back up here” –_ **

**_“Oh, please do, Dad.”_ **

**_“ – because you need to know that your Uncle Sheldon and your Aunt Emily were having their own trouble just then. See, as the wedding got closer and closer, your Aunt and Uncle realised that they had a problem. And that problem was” –_ **

“Our families,” Emily explained. “This time around, they’re less into us getting married.” She grimaced. “...for some reason.”

“It’s going to be okay,” Sheldon told her, rubbing her shoulders. 

She sighed. “Your parents hate me Sheldon. Nothing’s going to change the fact that I’m the girl who left you a couple of months before our wedding.”

“But they _used_ to love you,” Sheldon pointed out. “And they will again. I just know you’ll win them back – the same way you won me back.”

“I won you back by running out of that restaurant and insisting you break up with that other girl you were dating,” Emily reminded him.

Sheldon frowned. “I don’t think you should do that this time. My mom really appreciates good table manners.”

“What about your parents?” Sam asked. “I mean – Sheldon didn’t leave _you_ at the altar, so...they’re good, right?”

“Since I’m marrying the guy I broke up with a couple of months ago – not really, no.” 

“But it’s not so bad,” Sheldon said. “After all, we do have a couple of days to change their minds...”

**_“But when they went to meet your Uncle Sheldon’s family, the first thing your Uncle Sheldon’s mom said was” –_ **

“So, you two are getting married...again.”

“Well, not ‘again’,” Sheldon clarified. “I mean, since the wedding never really happened that first time.”

Emily discreetly took hold of his elbow to pull him closer, and whispered, “Not helping, Sheldon. Not helping.”

**_“Your Aunt Emily brought her family to see the wedding venue, and her mother said” –_ **

“Oh, Em – it’s just beautiful.”

Emily smiled. “I’m glad you like it.”

“And...not that I’m saying it will, but if anything – _happens_ – and the wedding doesn’t go ahead...the deposit is refundable, right?”

**_“The big Shlepper-Davis family dinner they held didn’t make anything better” –_ **

“Well, it could have been worse,” Emily told Casey.

“How?”

“Instead of sitting in total silence they could have actually talked to each other.”

**_“Kids – your Aunt Emily might have been right. Because when they did start talking, this is the kind of thing that came up” –_ **

“So – two best men, huh? Like – a main best man and a backup,” Shawn Shlepper said. “That’s funny. I mean – a little weird that you’d have two best men, and neither of them would be your brother. The brother who asked you to be his groomsman. The brother who taught you how to ride your bide. The brother who told you that what you were doing was perfectly normal, and nothing to be ashamed of that time I came into your room and saw you” –

Shawn’s wife tapped his knee.

He cleared his throat. “But it’s fine. Like I said – it’s funny. What – do you have a back-up bride too?”

“I think we’ve had enough wine,” Shawn’s wife said, with a bright smile as she moved his glass.

**_“Finally, it was the night before the wedding, and your Aunt Emily and Uncle Sheldon’s last chance to change their families’ minds. They decided that intimacy was key in this. So they split up – your Aunt Emily took the Davis and Shlepper women, while Sheldon was in charge of the men. And that brings us right back to your Aunt Casey and me...”_ **

**_“What? No! Dad – we don’t want to go back!”_ **

“Case? What – is something wrong?” Sam asked.

Casey marched past him, pulling off her coat and tossing it onto the couch. “Of course not. Nothing’s wrong. We just need to snuggle. Right now.”

She sat.

**_“Kids, as you can imagine” –_ **

**_“Oh God. Now you’re asking us to IMAGINE you and Aunt Casey?”_ **

**_“ – I was a little confused. And when your Aunt Casey explained that the reason she was there, there was only one logical response to the situation.”_ **

“Let me get this straight,” Sam said, frowning. “You want us to snuggle because...Derek doesn’t believe we’re a serious couple?” He paused and shrugged. “...okay.”

He sat on the couch, facing Casey. “So...I guess we should...”

Casey nodded, and they leaned in. Before their lips could meet however, the apartment door burst open and Emily walked in. Sam and Casey sprang apart.

“Emily!” Casey said. “What are you doing here? I thought you were out chaperoning the all female Shlepper-Davis get-together.”

“I am,” Emily said. “We’re between courses and the service is slow, so I snuck out for a couple of minutes. Don’t worry – I won’t be here for long.”

“Why _are_ you here?” Casey asked.

“Because Sheldon and I knew it would be like this. Everyone’s being so careful and trying not to say anything, but it’s so obvious they all think we’re making a big mistake. We both figured we’d need a time out from that, so” –

Emily was interrupted by the door opening again, to reveal Sheldon. They looked at each other for a moment before Sheldon said, “That bad, huh?”

Emily nodded. “You?”

“Same.” He held out his hands in invitation and Emily stepped forward, wrapping her arms around him. They stood like that for a minute, before Emily said, “I needed that.” 

She pulled back. “Want me to walk you downstairs?”

He nodded.

Emily waved towards the couch. “See you later,” she said.

**_“When they left, it was just me and your Aunt Casey. Alone again.”_ **

**_“Dad. Just so you know – that is the cruellest psych in the history of the world.”_ **

“So...do you want to...” Sam asked, gesturing between himself and Casey.

“Oh yeah – definitely,” Casey said, nodding vigorously.

Sam put his arm around her, and they leaned in again. But this time nothing stopped their lips from making contact, and they kissed.

“I think this is going well so far,” Sam said, breaking contact.

“Yeah,” Casey agreed. They smiled at each other. “So,” she said. “Maybe I should...?” and she began to tilt backwards on the couch.

“Um – maybe we should go into the bedroom,” Sam suggested.

“Don’t you think that would kill the spontaneity?” Casey asked.

“I don’t know. I think that died when I opened the door and you told me we were going to snuggle.”

Casey deflated. “You’re right. This isn’t spontaneous and passionate at all.” 

Sam looked at her, already opening his mouth to offer words of comfort, when she lunged for him, landing in his lap. “But we can get that back,” she told him, before kissing him fiercely.

“Okay,” Sam gasped, pulling her even closer and kissing her back. 

“This is good, right?” Casey asked.

“Perfect,” Sam said, tipping his head forward to catch her lips again.

She moved her head, avoiding his mouth. “I mean – this is exactly how I pictured it happening. Natural, loving, and full of passion – exactly how snuggling should be” –

“Completely,” Sam said, finally capturing her mouth for another kiss.

Almost immediately she pushed on his shoulders, breaking free. “I can’t do this,” she said. “I’m sorry – I just can’t stop thinking about Derek.”

Sam took this in. “Well there’s something I was hoping I’d never hear.” He paused. “Again.”

Casey removed herself from his lap, and sat beside him on the couch. Sam frowned as he looked at her, bent head cradled in her hands.

“Casey?” he said. “Casey – are you okay?”

Mutely, she shook her head.

“Case – I was just kidding. You know this isn’t a big deal, right?”

She finally looked up. “Yes, it is.”

“Why? Because of something _Derek_ said? His last serious relationship was in college, remember? He’s not exactly an expert on this stuff.”

“It’s not what Derek said,” Casey told him. “It’s – it’s how I _reacted_ to what he said. If it wasn’t true, then...” she gestured between them, “...why did I do this?”

“You think there’s something wrong with us?” Sam said. “But Case – our relationship’s been going so well...”

“But _where_?”

“What?”

“Where is it going?” she asked. “Relationships...they need be going _somewhere_. They should be heading towards something – and I don’t just mean snuggling. I mean...marriage. Kids.” She looked down at her hands. “Since we got together it just – it doesn’t feel like we’re going anywhere.”

Sam stared at her. “How can you say that?”

She turned to him. “I’m sorry, but – Sam, name one thing, one thing that’s changed since we got together.” She waited. “You can’t. You can’t because _nothing_ has changed. We’re both in exactly the same place we were before we got together. And, maybe I’m over-reacting, but I don’t think that’s how it works.”

**_“Kids, I could see where this was going. And what was worse was – I knew your Aunt Casey was right. For a long time, we had just been coasting. And it wasn’t right. But the way I felt about your Aunt Casey...it was the closest I’d ever gotten to the real thing, and the thought of letting it go – well, that scared me. I couldn’t do it. So I said” –_ **

“I applied for that job.”

“What?”

“The lecturing job. Professor of Architecture at UT. I applied.”

“You did?” Casey said softly.

“Maybe it’s not much – but it’s something, right? It’s a start. And – we’ll get better at this. I know we will. We can do this, Casey – I know we can.”

She just looked at him, and Sam moved closer to her on the couch. “What do you want, Case?”

*****

**_“Kids, your Aunt Emily and Uncle Sheldon’s wedding was – like them – a mixture. But it was one that brought out the best in both of them. Your Aunt Casey started crying during the processional, but your Uncle Sheldon held out a little longer._ **

**_And you know something? After everything that had happened, all the mistakes and missteps your Aunt and Uncle made in getting to that point – I think it was kind of fitting that the ceremony went off without a hitch. No drama, no last minute nerves, no missing ring – not even a stumble as they walked up the aisle. Just two people, declaring their love for each other…in a way that hopefully didn’t cause offence to either of their families’ religious traditions. And it was perfect._ **

**_The reception is where things got messy.”_ **

“What?” Derek asked suspiciously. 

“What? Nothing,” Casey said.

“You’re happy.”

“Two of my friends just got married. Of course I’m happy.”

He scrutinized her. “It’s not that kind of happy. That,” he pointed at her face, “is a ‘Derek screwed something up and I get to rub it in’ face, and it’s putting me off my food, so…” he put his hands on her shoulders and turned her around, giving her a little push in the opposite direction.

She faced him again. “I think you’re confusing _me_ with, well – _you_. Not all of us are so childish we have to parade our victories before other people, hoping for some hollow validation.” She paused. “But…if I _were_ the kind of person who did that, right now I’d be pointing out how wrong you were about Sam and I.”

Derek frowned at her. “What?”

“You said that we had no chance at lasting happiness and that our relationship was doomed,” she reminded him. “Well, I can tell you that our relationship is very much on track, and that last night, we took a step that made our bond deeper and more meaningful than ever before.”

Derek took her in, standing straight and queenly, a small, satisfied smile on her face – and paled.

“Oh god,” he said. “You two snuggled, didn’t you?” He leaned on a chair back to steady himself. “I think I’m going to be sick.”

Casey looked pityingly at him. “Not that I would expect _you_ to understand, but there _are_ other ways to deepen and strengthen a relationship.”

Still gripping the chair back, Derek said, “Please tell me you used one of those ways. Preferably a non-naked one.”

“I can’t tell you that,” Casey told him. “Sam and I agreed that we were going to keep it private for the moment.” 

She made as if to walk past Derek, but he reached out and grabbed her elbow, pulling her back. “You can tell me you two didn’t snuggle – but what you _actually did_ is off limits? No way could that be more gross than…the first one.” He swallowed, still looking queasy.

“Technically, I didn’t tell you we didn’t snuggle,” Casey said. Derek narrowed his eyes at her, and she allowed, “I might have implied it.”

“Casey. What. Happened?” he said through gritted teeth.

Casey bit her lip, before looking quickly to the left and right. “Okay,” she said in a low voice, and stepped closer. “Last night, after we decided we couldn’t sn…well, never mind, Sam and I were having a serious talk about our relationship, and” –

_“What do you want, Case?” Sam asked._

_“I want…” Casey frowned. “I want…I want us to be like Emily and Sheldon.”_

_“What?”_

_Casey waved towards the door. “Look at them. They can’t even go one night without seeing each other. They’re so – together. Even when they were trying not to be together, in some weird way…they were still together. I want…I want that.”_

_Sam took Casey’s hand. “We can have that,” he said._

_“I don’t” –_

_“Think about it,” he said. “Sheldon and Emily are getting married. Soon they’re going to be looking for a place of their own. And – and…” he stopped._

_“Sam,” Casey swallowed. “Are you saying…what I think you’re saying?”_

_Sam seemed to waver. But then he looked over her shoulder at the bookshelf – and the big photograph of Casey’s mother and sister that now stood next to the picture of his own college graduation. “A lot of your stuff’s already here,” he said. “You’re almost moved in already. So – why not make it official?”_

Casey smiled widely. “We’re getting married!” She lowered her voice, “But we’re keeping it quiet for now – so as not to overshadow Emily and Sheldon’s big day.”

Derek blinked. “You and Sam are getting married.” He nodded slowly to himself, as if allowing time for this to sink in – before abruptly spasming into forceful disbelief. “Okay – how many times do I have to say this? That’s not how it works!”

“Maybe it’s a little unconventional,” Casey said.

“You two haven’t even snuggled yet!” Derek reminded her.

“I don’t know why you’re so hung up on that.”

He stared at her. His mouth opened, then shut, then opened again. “Nnnnyargh!” he eventually managed, before wheeling off.

 

*****

 

_**“It didn’t take your Uncle Derek long to find me. I was sitting at a table and talking to our friend Ralph.”** _

“Tell me it’s not true,” Derek demanded.

“Okay, dude. It’s not true,” Ralph said obligingly. “What’s not true?” he whispered to Sam. Derek ignored him.

“Casey told you,” Sam guessed. He looked up at Derek. “You’re not going to congratulate me, are you?”

“Dude. What are you doing?”

“Well right now we’re waiting for our main course,” Ralph said. He craned his neck in the direction of the kitchens. 

“You can’t marry Casey.”

“You’re getting married?” Ralph asked. He thumped Sam on the shoulder. “Sweet. Congratulations, dude!”

“Thanks, Ralph,” Sam said. He directed a pointed look at Derek. 

“You can’t marry Casey,” Derek repeated.

“Derek” –

“ _You can’t marry Casey.”_

“Yeah, well, maybe I wouldn’t have asked her if you could have kept your nose out of our business,” Sam said.

Ralph wrinkled his forehead. “I’m confused.”

“Listen – I know you don’t like it, but…Casey and I are together. And we’re going to be together for a long time. So tomorrow I’m going to apply for that job in UT and after that, I’m going to ask Casey to set a date.”

A voice from behind Sam said, “I thought you already applied.”

Sam stiffened, before getting to his feet. “Casey – I” –

“You told me you applied.”

“Casey – I…I was going to apply, I just” –

“ – didn’t,” she finished. 

“Casey” –

“We need to talk,” she said, taking hold of his sleeve and pulling him away. Derek grabbed a plate of appetizers from the table and followed them.

“...I’m still confused,” Ralph said.

 

*****

 

Casey dropped Sam’s wrist as soon as they got into the hotel foyer. 

“Casey – I’m sorry,” Sam said. “I should have told you the truth – but…I’m going to apply for that job. I am.”

“It’s not about the job, Sam,” she said. “It’s” – she frowned as she noticed Derek. “What are you doing here?”

“Going by experience – you two come out here to fight, and you’re going to end up signing adoption papers. Neither of you seem to get what ‘break up’ means.”

“I think we do, this time,” Casey said, not breaking eye contact with Sam.

“Casey…”

She didn’t say anything.

“Casey…” he tried again. She remained silent.

“Case…”

**_“That was when I knew. Your Aunt Casey just looked at me…and I couldn’t give her a reason to give us one last chance. Because I couldn’t think of one. I opened my mouth, but nothing came out. And then I realised –_ **

“We’re breaking up.”

Casey nodded. “Yeah.”

“ _Finally_ ,” Derek said. He popped another piece of chicken in his mouth.

“What happened?” Sam asked. “I thought – I thought we were” –

Casey half-smiled. “So did I.”

“Where did we go wrong?”

“I don’t know,” she said.

They looked at each other. “So – what are we now?” Sam asked. “I mean, what do you call it when two people can’t be together, but – they still care about each other?”

“A waste of time?” Derek offered, at the same time as Casey said, “Friends?”

She closed her eyes for a second before turning towards Derek. As she manhandled him out of the foyer, she said, over his protests, “I think Sam and I can take it from here.” She gave him one last shove for good measure, before facing Sam again.

“What do we do now?” he asked her.

She tried to smile. “We go back out there, and – try to enjoy the rest of the wedding.”

“And then?”

She shook her head a little. “And then...we figure out how to… _not_ be together. It’s – probably going to work out okay,” she said, tone striving for brightness. “I mean – we seem to be pretty good at that already.”

Sam stepped forward, and her smile wavered. “Casey” –

She swallowed. “We – should probably get back out there,” she said. “It’s Emily and Sheldon’s big day. We don’t want to ruin it for them.”

Sam nodded. Almost as if he couldn’t help himself, he asked, “Casey…are we okay?”

Slowly she said, “I think…we will be.”

 

*****

 

When Emily and Sheldon took to the dance floor for the first dance, Emily said, “Is something wrong? You’ve been kind of quiet.”

“You remember after the ceremony when my dad kissed you, and shook my hand?”

“Yeah,” Emily said.

“He also slipped the names of a couple of good lawyers into my pocket.”

She grimaced. “Oh.”

“I don’t know. I guess…I just thought there’d be a moment – maybe when we lit the candle, or broke the glass – a moment when our parents would figure out that…this is for real. They’d _get it_. But it didn’t happen.”

“That would’ve been nice,” Emily agreed. “But – can you really blame them? I mean – I left you at the altar the first time we tried this, and it probably doesn’t look much better this time around. Not with the way we rushed into it.” She sighed. “Let’s face it, Sheldon – our parents have a point. I don’t know if I’d believe in us either, if I was them.”

Sheldon stopped moving. “They got to you, didn’t they? Who was it – my mom? She’s very persuasive – she wrote all my speeches when I ran for class president.”

“No-one got to me.” Emily nudged him to start moving again. “I’m just saying – this is a long term project. Five days isn’t enough time to convince them that we’re serious about each other. It’s going to take years.”

“Wow,” Sheldon said. “Years?”

“Yeah. But look on the bright side. By the time we’ve been married for ten years, our parents will totally believe in us.” 

“Uh, Em, my little munchkin, how is that the bright side?” Sheldon asked.

“Because when we finally do convince them, we’re going to have the biggest, most satisfying ‘I told you so’ ever. And by the way ‘munchkin’ is still not on the approved list of nicknames.”

“You know something? You’re right.” Sheldon looked at her in wonder, “You’re so perfect for me. I can’t believe they don’t see it already.”

He pulled her closer and they swayed to the music.

 

*****

 

Watching Emily and Sheldon, Casey smiled. From across the floor, she caught Sam’s eye, and she quickly looked away, smile disappearing. But her gaze was soon drawn to Emily and Sheldon again. She watched them for a few moments before making her way across the room, to where Derek was sitting.

“It’s kind of tradition for the bridesmaid and best man to…” she said.

Derek blinked in surprise. “Yeah,” he said, with effort – looking at her outstretched hand. “So…shouldn’t you be asking Sam?”

She made a face. “It’d be kind of awkward, considering we just broke up.” She avoided his gaze and said, with new determination, “And – it is tradition.”

He swallowed. “Yeah…but I’m not real big on tradition.”

She sighed and sat down in the empty chair next to him. “Okay. The truth is – the fact that this wedding is happening, and that a big part of that is due to you…well, that proves that whatever you say…you _do_ believe in love.” She held up a hand, forestalling any objections. “And right now…I really need to believe in it, too, so…”

“You’re…looking at me to restore your faith in humanity. You _must_ be desperate.”

“Obviously,” Casey said, without heat. “I mean, look who I’m asking to dance.” She extended her hand again.

Derek looked down at the table, suppressing a smile – and then up at her. 

He took her hand and let her lead him out onto the dance floor.

 

*****

 

_**“Kids, everyone has at least a couple of turning points in their lives. And right then, we were all going through one. Your Aunt Emily and Uncle Sheldon said goodbye to their old lives, and began a new life together. Your Aunt Casey and Uncle Derek…well, more on that later. And I – well, I finally realised that sometimes, you can’t just wait and hope for the best. You can’t let good things slip between your fingers. Sometimes, you have to go out and make stuff happen. Breaking up with your Aunt Casey taught me that.** _

_**The next day, I applied for that job in the University of Toronto. And if I hadn’t done that, I never would have figured out that being a professor was, well, what I wanted to do for the rest of my life. But, most importantly of all – I might never have had the opportunity to fall in love with your mother.** _

_**But we’ll get to that.”** _


End file.
